Updates

Providence is one of 52 jurisdictions advancing to the quarterfinals of Georgetown University’s $5 million Energy Prize competition. The contest challenges small- to medium-sized towns, cities and counties to rethink their energy use and implement creative strategies to increase energy efficiency.

Each competitor has assembled a team of local governments, residents, utilities and community groups to test its strategies over a two-year period, and EC Providence is a primary community partner in that city’s effort. The winners are to be announced in mid-2017.

“EC Providence is proud to be a lead partner with the City of Providence as a semifinalist in Georgetown University’s competition,” said Director Brigid Ryan. “We are excited about this opportunity to expand our collaborative efforts with the City that help contribute to a stronger workforce and economic growth while making municipal buildings more energy efficient.”

The university’s announcement says the selected communities are “leaders in energy efficiency” whose “innovative approaches will inspire and enable others to follow in their footsteps.” The university adds that the collective scope of the local collaborations to reduce energy consumption is unprecedented.

The semifinalists will have all of 2015 and 2016 to reduce consumption of energy supplied by electric and gas utilities directly to residential and municipal customers. The reductions must be “likely to yield continuing improvements within [the] community and replication in other communities.”

Over the course of the competition, the competing communities have the potential to save more than $1 billion in energy costs and cut millions of tons of CO2 emissions, the university notes, adding that the competition will “identify innovative, replicable, scalable solutions” for cities and counties nationwide.